Kitten’s Short Life Serves A Beautiful Purpose – Making His Dad A Cat Lover

Believe it or not, there are people out there who don’t love cats. Some prefer dogs, and others simply don’t care much for animals (gasp!).

These folks may argue with my theory, but I believe that anyone can be converted into an animal lover. All it takes is the right pet! For one man, that pet turned out to be a very special kitten named Thomas.

Frequent kitten foster mom, Katherine – who goes by the handle, KittensForDays – shared the story of her father, a self-proclaimed “dog person,” via Imgur. Katherine’s parents have three dogs, but her mom, a lifelong cat lover, was desperate to add a feline to their happy home.

The couple came to a “mutual” decision to get a kitten and Katherine began to search for the perfect cat to win over her father. She found him in a group of 11 kittens she was fostering. Each was named for a different superhero and the one named Hulk had a personality as big as his name!

According to Katherine, the ginger-colored cutie was “really chill, snuggly, and sweet.” When he reached 8-weeks-old, Katherine took Hulk for a sleepover at her parents’ home. The whole family hit it off – including the dogs and their anti-cat dad!

Hulk was renamed Thomas and settled in contentedly to his new home. He was just what Katherine’s mom had been hoping for.

Sadly, Thomas’ little body was hiding a deadly secret. He was diagnosed with FIP (Feline Infectious Peritonitis). His symptoms progressed quickly and just four weeks after his adoption, the couple made the heartwrenching decision to end his suffering.

Over the next year, Katherine showed them several other kittens in the hopes that one would be special enough to encourage them to love again. Sadly, the couple were just too heartbroken over Thomas.

“My dad tells me they’ve renamed him Tigger and that he is perfect,” Katherine writes. “He plays like a maniac, sleeps hard 16 hours a day, and loves to ‘swim’ in their dogs’ water bowl. But most importantly, he’s the lap kitty they both wanted.”